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Forum Discussion

touchepas's avatar
touchepas
Helpful | Level 5
7 years ago

Time machine forces smart sync to download files locally!

There is a huge problem when using smart sync as a Mac user who has time machine setup to automatically back up the entire hard drive (including the dropbox folder). If this is the case the time mach...
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  • Rich's avatar
    Rich
    7 years ago
    The files aren't on the computer so your backup software can't back them up. If it tries to access the files, Dropbox is likely bringing them local just like it's supposed to do (no different from when you access a file that's Online Only; it's downloaded). Dropbox likely can't differentiate between you accessing a file or another application accessing the file.

    Your best bet would be to add an exclusion to your backup set so that it doesn't attempt to backup any files that are marked as Online Only.
  • Jane's avatar
    Jane
    7 years ago
     
    Hey touchepas, let me follow-up on your last reply more closely (& thanks for taking the time to post your feedback here)!
     
    You may keep in mind that it isn’t currently possible to avoid this behavior: 
     
    However, I wonder whether there is a way to prevent dropbox from doing so if it is a 'read trigger' by time machine?
     
    On the other hand though, I understand that this functionality is important to you & for that reason I’ve made sure to pass your comments & overall feedback on to our team for future consideration. 
     
    Please don’t hesitate to post here again at any time in case you need further assistance & we’ll do our best to check back with you. Happy Friday! 
davemill's avatar
davemill
Helpful | Level 5

I recently went through the same SmartSync/TimeMachine conflict that so many Mac users have complained about on the forums. As a loyal DropBox user (who plans to keep using and recommending DropBox!) I wanted to make one thing clear to the Dropbox team: 

You disappointed us. 

Dropbox has been a delight as long as it's been available. Everyone I show it to loves it and many start using it. It has never caused a technical glitch, and seems as well integrated into the Apple Finder as any Apple product. We love it.

Then you announced SmartSync along with a price increase. It sounded like a great deal, the answer to our dreams. And it exploded in all of our faces. 

Guys, you knew this would happen. My guess is that there are a lot of Apple Fanboys at Dropbox, and that many of you use Time Machine. You have always delighted us in the past. Why did you dangle this new feature in our faces and not warn us of the conflict with Time Machine? 

Yes, I love DropBox. Yes, I will continue to use it without Smartsync. Yes, I will continue to recommend it to friends. And Yes, we expect to see warnings in BIG RED LETTERS on all of your SmartSync support pages that it conflicts with Time Machine. Heck, you can probably figure out a way to identify whether Time Machine is enabled on a particular Mac and warn users in real-time. Let's get back to DropBox Delight!

Jane's avatar
Jane
Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff
6 years ago
Hey davemill, I’ve now moved your post under this discussion, so as to add your voice to the feedback we’re gathering on the Community regarding this behavior. We are trying to make Dropbox the best it can be, so I’ll make sure your constructive feedback reaches the right pair of eyes as we take your feedback seriously. 
 
Thanks for choosing Dropbox & I'm always here in case you'd like to share your thoughts or observations Dave! 

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